The present invention relates to the art of detecting movable objects such as vehicles and the like, and, more particularly to a system wherein the position and the vehicle condition are determined.
Whereas the invention has particular application for use in detecting the position and condition, such as heading direction, of a forklift truck or the like in a warehouse type environment, and will be described with respect to the same, the invention may be used in other applications wherein location and condition of a movable object is desired.
One of the problems encountered in a printing-binding warehouse situation deals with lost or misplaced goods. Such goods, for example, may take the form of bundles of papers, generally referred to as signatures, located on warehouse skids. Such warehouse skids, with the goods thereon, are stored in bins located on the left and right sides of various aisles. In a printing application, misplaced or lost skids with the goods thereon may result in a costly press run to replace the missing material. Although such warehouses may incorporate computerized inventory systems, such systems merely allocate suitable storage locations or bins for the various skids. Thereafter, a forklift truck operator will retrieve a skid and then proceed to the assigned bin location and deposit the skid therein. Such a computerized inventory system has no check on whether the operator inadvertently or otherwise placed the skid in the wrong bin. The suggested answers to this problem have required relatively complex special machinery and special warehouse construction and, hence, high capital expense. There is a need to solve the problem without resort to such expense.